WAR ON SHAGS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21918, 1 April 1933, Page 12

WAR ON SHAGS

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —The Otago Acclimatisation Society at its meeting on the 27th inst. renewed its declaration of war on the “preying shag,” and as no particular species was mentioned, the native shags will be included. It was stated that tor many years money had been spent in research work, etc. Apparently the society has not progressed very far in this work or it would have discovered that the “ preying shag preys on eels and therefore destroys the destroyer of the trout. Strange to say, I have been an angler for a number pi years, but I have learned to procure reliable information before condemning a bird such as the shag. Some time ago a friend of mine was on the banks of a river below where the water came over some rough falls, and here he noticed a colony of shags, so he went upstream to investigate. On examining the stones and slippery sides of the falls he found thousands of elvers (young eels) making their way upstream. The colony of shags would probably account for dozens, if not hundreds, of elvers (they being so small) m a day, so I will leave the society to calculate the number of trout that these birds ultimately saved. As trout were introduced, should not the native shags have prior right? Instead of interfering with Nature’s wonderful balance if we would only emulate Robinson Crusoe, when he weighed up the advantages with the disadvantages, we would discover in almost every case concerning native birds, that the good work performed by our birds outweighed the small amount oi harm they do. —I am, etc., Save Our Birds.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—For anyone to suggest, as one of your correspondents did, that the black shag is not a menace to the trout streams of New Zealand, is to display a decided lack of acquaintance with the habits ot the bird. With his wonderful diving ability and general under water skill, his speed in that element, and remarkable powers of vision, he is specially equipped by Nature for this special business, bo much is this so that the bird is used in other countries, notably China, as a professional fisherman, having a ring placed round his neck to prevent him from swallowing the booty, and it is a common occurrence in that country to sec a Chinaman seated in big boat with his trained birds around him, actively engaged in gathering the harvest of fish tor their owner. Originally an ocean bird, it did not take him long to discover that in the confined river waters was a prey much more easily captured, and much more to his taste than the evasive sea fish were. The succulent trout, kindly imported specially for him, from his point of view, became a prime morsel of diet and eo he proceeded to take toll at his own sweet will, a proceeding that naturally did not square with the ideas of our acclimatisation society, who no doubt are quite within their rights in presenting the shag with the bill of costs. How much damage a shag or two can do to small fish may be shown by a single instance. Some years ago. Ranger Burt, of the Cunton fish hatchery, liberated in the haiwera River, near the old Otaraia Hotel, portion of 10,000 trout fry for the purpose of restocking this favourite trout stream, I being an interested spectator. Shortly after leaving the river bank i saw two black shags fly down and commence operations on the fry- Hurriedly running over to the house for my gnu 1 returned and bagged the pair. Shag No 1 had 38 fry in his bag, while No. 2 boasted 17. this in the space of not more than -0 minutes, which exemplifies this bird s capabilities when he means business. Similar instances could be quoted in other localities. The Kaiwera contained at tins time, and still probably does, large supplies of minnows, fresh water crayfish, and shrimps, cockabullies, etc., and the tact that none of these were present in the shag’s maw can only mean that the trout fry were easier to catch, or that they were more to the bird’s taste, A lifelong experience of these birds leads me to believe that their favourite fish are young trout, flounders, and the sea pilchards in our river estuaries when on migration yearly. I note your correspondent also speaks of the shags as destroying cels. Well, I have shot many hundreds of these birds and have yet to shoot one containing an cel. or any portion ox one; I believe, but cannot prove, that a shag would experience considerable difficulty in handling an eel of any size "J the water. It is quite conceivable that the acclimatisation society have a good case to present. Their work in stocking the New Zealand trout streams has been most commendable, and lias developed from a hobby into a national asset of some considerable importance, as witness the large and increasing numbers of overseas anglers who periodically visit our shores for several months in the year. The revenue derived from New Zealanders themselves, and the work provided for allied industries, in the shape of tackle, rods, flies, and all their attendant necessities, has also reached very satisfactory proportions, and it would be no exaggeration to say that to many of our overseas friends New Zealand is known better as “ the land where the big trout grow than in any other respect. Tim shag, ns your correspondent states, may be an “interesting” bird. No doubt he is. as. indeed, is any work of Nature, but in comparison with the value of our ‘ trout he can scarcely be classed as an asset of any importance, if. indeed, as an asset at nil. In fact, his depredations so far exceed his reparations, that he might fairly be classed as a debit, and while your correspondent states that he is fairly entitled to his six or seven fish per diem, I a"TCe, but with the proviso that he is

not entitled to six or seven of our most expensive fish per day any more than anyone is entitled in these days to feed his family on caviare or Atlantic salmon. I give the Acclimatisation Society credit for weighing their evidence, and if it is against Brer Shag, as it seems to be, then the bounty had better obtain, unless some wiser individual can persuade Brer Shag to go back to bis original home on the seashore, and not pfcach on another fellow’s preserves. —I am, etc., Ruru.